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What’s that? It’s the United
States Tennis Association’s tagline for
the US Open Series. Six weeks, ten tournaments, ten
North-American cities, 200 players, $30 million on the line. Final destination,
the only U.S. tennis grand
slam—the US Open in Queens,
New York. So far, so good. Taking
tennis “on the road” and bringing it to communities around the country is a fair
attempt to raise awareness and, hopefully, bring back tennis as a sport of
choice.
But beyond that, it’s mostly a
trip gone wrong. For one, have you seen any of the commercials?
Cramming the world’s top tennis players in a bus, screaming “road trip” and
making fun of their vanities and quirks? Yes, they are young, fun people for
sure, but they also are incredibly serious, dedicated athletes. Watching Maria
Sharapova practicing her “I won the US Open” smile and filing her nails, or
Serena Williams presenting her earring collection and discussing their
significance doesn’t make me want to tune in, rather it makes me tune out. I am
not the audience, you say. Possible, but I can tell you these commercials are
not exactly a whopping hit on YouTube either. The most successful clip has been
viewed some 20,000 times and commented on 29 times…in a month!
And that’s not where it ends.
The US Open Series website is a jumble of information and
hard to navigate. Certain sections load slowly or not at all. And, worst of
all, what about some consumer engagement? The site is devoid of any social
networking capabilities. How in the world, does the USTA think it will reach
the coveted younger consumer? And for those of us who are die-heard tennis
fans, could you please upload a TV schedule that is readable? Anybody over 35
needs a magnifying glass!
And, oh yes, it would help if the
US Open Series coverage was indeed on as announced on the site. Forget it, most
of the time some other sports event takes precedent over tennis. I wonder why!
Perhaps the USTA could place live updates on the US Open Series site, so I know
when and where I might catch the coverage I just missed? Otherwise, it’s just
the worst road trip in sports with no map or directions.
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What I enjoy about the TV schedule in particular is the little tag at the bottom of the page:
"For additional information, go to USOpenSeries.com"
(http://picsrv.usta.com/?fif=/usta/usta/img_380_2076.jpg&obj=iip,1.0&wid=593&hei=975&rgn=0,0,0,0&cvt=jpeg)
But... that's where I *am*!
A classic little error in merging print collateral with online: Little consideration for the form of the content, and an insufficient liquidity to the information.
E.